The Gujarat elections are turning out to be a three-way fight this time
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP's star campaigner, will be addressing eight poll rallies over three days across Gujarat, beginning Saturday.
The campaign will begin in South Gujarat. PM Modi will address a poll rally in Valsad and stay the night there.
The next day, which is a Sunday, the Prime Minister will visit the Somnath Mandir around 10 am. He will then headline four rallies at Veraval, Dhoraji, Amreli and Botad.
PM Modi will then head to Ahmedabad and stay the night at Raj Bhawan.
The following day, which is a Monday, he will address three rallies at Surendranagar, Jambusar and Navsari.
The Prime Minister addressed 34 rallies in the last state elections.
The ruling BJP, which has been in power in the state for over two decades and is PM Modi's homestead, is facing protests by leaders denied tickets.
The party is taking a "love and compassion" approach suggested by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and plans to hold one-on-one discussions with discontented leaders, sources said today.
So far, the party has announced 160 of 182 candidates, and already dropped 38 MLAs.
In Gujarat, which votes on December 1 and 5, the party has "never seen this kind of resentment", and it "needs to be dealt with immediately", said a top leader who asked not to be named.
The elections are turning out to be a three-way fight this time. While the Congress, which increased its vote share and seats last time, has kept its campaign low-key - it says that's strategic - the Aam Aadmi Party has held a high-decibel campaign on what it calls "a friendly match" between the two main parties.